Thursday Tap - Freigeist Abraxxxas

If you missed last week's Thursday Tap and wonder what's up with that Freigeist brewery, you're in luck! This Thursday, 30 August at 5 pm,  Jimmy's No. 43 will be putting on another Freigeist keg - Abraxxxas.

Abraxxxas is inspired by an old style of smoked weisse beer known as Lichtenhainer which was popular in 19th century eastern Germany. The Freigeist version has been either modernized or retrograded; you decide.  Because brewers Sebastian and Peter are fans of disappearing sour beers like Berliner Weisse and Gose, they like to add some sourness to many of their beers. They also figure that most beers in the past would have had some degree of sourness so why not create a sour Lichtenhainer. And who knows? Lictenhainer might very well indeed have had some lactic sourness.

The name of the beer comes from the Gnostic deity Abraxas in Hermann Hesse's novels. Freigeist brews 2 versions of this beer:  Abraxas, a more subtle 3.2% beer and Abraxxxas, a bigger, more sour yet still refreshing version at 6%.  Add the extra xx for...sour?

Jimmy's is located at 43 E. 7th Street.

Thursday Tap - Freigeist Brettokolong

Every Thursday at 5 pm, Jimmy's No. 43 taps a special keg. Sometimes it's a seasonal, sometimes a limited offering, and sometimes a new release. Today, it's a limited keg of a new release from a new-to-the-US brewery:  Freigeist's Brettokolong, an unfiltered kölsch fermented with brettanomyces.

Jimmy's is located at 43 E. 7th Street.

The Freigeist beers come from the Braustelle brewery in Cologne, Germany. You hear "Cologne/Köln" and you think "Kölsch". Now there's a new brewery in town that not only brews a kölsch (unfiltered, so they can't legally call it kölsch) but also other updated versions of old German styles, even an Altbier - a traditional beer from Düsseldorf. Sacrilege!

Peter Esser and Sebastian Sauer, the brewers at Braustelle, don't always brew according to the Reinheitsgebot. As a result, their special Freigeist Bierkultur line of brews ("freigeist" means "free thinking") run the gamut from smoky to sour to malty to floral. Look for newly arrived bottles and kegs of the following beers:

• Ottekolong - unfiltered kölsch
• Brettokolong - draft version of Ottekolong fermented with brett
• Pimock - hoppy Rheinland weizen
• Abraxxxas - inspired by Lichtenhainer, an old style of smoked weisse beer popular in 19th century eastern Germany. The Freigeist version also has some lactic sourness because the brewers are fans of sour beers like Berliner Weisse and Gose and because most beers would have had some degree of sourness in the past
• Hoppeditz - 7.5% doppel sticke alt brewed with smoked malt. The name comes from the puppet which is burned in Düsseldorf on Ash Wednesday at the end of Carnival. Carnival is also known as the fifth season so 5 malts and 5 hops are used to brew this beer.

Belgian Beer & Cheese and French Beer & Food

Of course you like beer. And there's a very good chance that you like cheese. So why not join me on Monday, 20 August at 6:30 pm at Murray's Cheese for a beer and cheese class. I'll be talking about 6 of our Belgian beers and Murray's has chosen 6 cheeses to pair with those beers. It's a great way to learn about beer and cheesemaking. Or simply a great way to sample your way through a variety of beers and cheeses.

Tickets are $75 and are available on the Murray's website. Murray's is located at 254 Bleecker Street.

Also on Monday, 20 August, there will be a special event at Taproom 307 (307 3rd Avenue) featuring the beers of Brasserie Bourganel from France. Chef Stephen Durley will create 4 small dishes to pair with 4 Bourganel drafts. The Bourganel brewery, from the Ardèche region of France, is inspired by the rich agriculture of the region and uses local products in the beers, including chestnuts, honey, bilberries, and nougat. Hubert Pommier, a representative of the brewery has come all the way from France and will be there to talk about the beers.

From 6:30-9:30 pm, a flight of 4 beers and 4 small plates will be $20.